So, Splatoon is Gamespot's Shooter of the Year...

In Gamespot's list of of their best games for this year, Splatoon is the highest ranked shooter- it is higher than Halo 5: Guardians and higher than Rainbow Six: Siege (these two were the only other shooters that even made the list- other big name shooters from this year, such as Destiny: The Taken King, Star Wars Battlefront, and Call of Duty: Black Ops 3, failed to even make the list).

This is of course just another award for Nintendo's shooter, which is also the freshest shooter that has been out in years (most notably, it also won the Best Shooter Award at The Game Awards this year).

My question to you- does Splatoon deserve this kind of recognition? Does it deserve all the accolades it is getting?

A better question for me - why the **** haven't I bought it yet?

Seriously, i've heard great things about this game, which was kinda outta left field as i'd basically heard nothing about it until release.

@charizard1605: considering it was up against BLOPS 3, Destiny, and Battlefront...meh.

To answer my own question: yes, absolutely.

I haven't played a fair few of the games in contention- I haven't played either Siege or Halo, but Splatoon is definitely better than Destiny: The Taken King, Call of Duty: Black Ops 3, and Star Wars Battlefront, which I did play. I do not know much about Siege, but general player reception to that game is far more muted than the reception to Splatoon. And then there is Halo. Halo 5, I am sure, is a great game- everything I have seen of the multiplayer, especially, looks incredible. But I imagine the lingering feeling here, that has led to Splatoon sweeping these awards, is that Halo 5 is ultimately just more Halo. Bigger, yes. Improved, yes. Better, yes. More, yes. But still ultimately a variation on a formula that is ow 15 years old.

Splatoon, ultimately, is something completely, thoroughly new- in every sense of the word, it is fresh, something never attempted before in the shooter market. And that is why I at least think that it deserved the win.

You absolutely should get it- it's a great game, with a stupidly addictive central mechanic and a great, active community. Plus, we're also planning on doing a System Wars party next month some time, if you can get the game by then.

And Halo 5.

Poor finalstar,Destiny and CoD lost over this :(

@charizard1605: its a good game but i dont see why it gets so much credit for innovation. its still a PvP squad-based third person shooter about getting kills, controlling zones or moving the rainmaker or tower (capture the flag pretty much) across the map, it just hides behind that nintendo cartoony flare. ill give them turf wars is pretty different, but its pretty boring after a few matches.

It's very refreshing to see a non-violent shooter get so much praise... I wish I could play it :(

It's really not more of the same. Simply the movement mechanics are completely game changing. Weapons like the Roller and its variations, or how kills work in context of territory control, or yes, Turf Wars (which doesn't get boring at all, really- you should see the depth that mode has now, as players have finally come to learn the weapons and the maps, which still keep being added) give the game a unique kind of depth.

Of course, the game also has a very unique, heavy sense of style, the Nintendo flair, like you said, but that adds to its charm. Charm without substance is nothing however, as Kirby and the Rainbow Curse proved to us- it helps that Splatoon is such an intrinsically strong game at its core. Without meaning to be condescending in any way, I would guess that you have not played the game since a few days after launch, or at least since August- in which case, I heavily encourage you to go back to it and see just how great it is now.

@charizard1605: Awesome. I'm out Boxing Day, so i'll try and grab it. I was always worried about the community dying off fairly quickly, so it's good to hear that it's so popular.

i played it with a friend for a few hours last week actually and it doesnt change how i feel. ive played it for quite a long time, im a level 27.

The roller to me is just an OP noob weapon, like a shotgun. Its annoying and I dont see how it adds anything new. They keep adding new weapons orbut theyre always variations or the same as one already released, with a new name and loadout (which wouldnt be necessary if nintendo would just allow custom loadouts), theres still only 4 or 5 main category of weapons in the game.

The 4 hour map rotation lock, reducing the game to just a few maps for majority of your play time is also another thing id knock it for.

That's fair, then, I won't contest your opinion.

As for the roller, it's actually not OP at all- given that it has a very short range, and given that it has minimal pathfinding capabilities, and also given that it is almost entirely useless on vertical maps, with verticality being a major component in so many maps, I think it's well balanced.

I do agree that Splatoon should allow custom loadouts (and on that note, let us change our loadouts without having to quit all the way to the lobby). I also agree that the map rotation is dumb- at least have it be random instead of locked into a fixed schedule, or have maps be playlist specific.

So I agree with a lot of the criticisms of the game, don't get me wrong- but I really enjoy the core game enough (as do a whole lot of others, apparently!) to ignore them.

i like it too and think its a fun game, i play it often, i just think its funny when people say its the second coming of the shooter genre and so innovative.

Rollers ARE op on the maps theyre good for (ala not vertical maps). last time i checked the splash range with it is ridiculous still and a one shot kill, was hoping for a nerf that never came. or just dont let them jump when they have it lol.

Considering it's competition that is not really a big achievement

@jcrame10: Jumping with rollers definitely breaks the game lol. Thankfully (or not...?) most people are too dumb to actually ever do it. I'm not sure on whether a roller splash is one shot or not, but I think it is (I distinctly remember that being pretty frustrating in the last SplatFest, so I think you are right).

Hopefully they can balance it out eventually (it's at least an improvement over how stupidly OP it was around launch, the meter would fill up in no time). If not, this was Nintendo's first jab- I'm hoping a potential sequel on the NX lets them go all out, really.

But yeah, it's fun and fresh. I don't know if it's the second coming, but it plays different enough from everything else in the genre that it keeps you hooked.

well no shit, GS staff sucks at shooters for the most part and splatoon is perfect for people who aren't good at shooters. highly competitive shooters like halo 5 and rainbow six had no chance.

@MonsieurX:

I find it awesome how splatoon beat out a lot of big name shooters this year. The two biggest shooters of the year failed to even be mentioned on most gaming website GOTY lists.

I love both Splatoon and Halo 5 even though both games are nowhere near amazing. I just wish splatoon was less laggy for me at times.Some maps like blackbelly skatepark are unplayable for me usually.

It won Best Third Person Shooter over at Gametrailers. Its well deserved, Nintendo hit homeruns with Splatoon, Yoshi Woolly World , Super Mario Maker and Xenoblade X. Such an awesome year.

Only unique AAA shooter to come out so... yeah.

I have no interest in this game, not enough to spend $60 there are other games more deserving of my money. I tried getting it Black Friday for $25 no luck. Not going to bother hunting down a value sale anymore. Does look interesting, just not $60 worth of intetesting.

And, this year had some quality shooters. Zombie Army Trilogy. State of Decay. Rise of the Tomb Raider, Halo 5. Battlefront despite what people say is fun to play. Starting to even get hooked on Battlefield Hardline. Gears of War Ultimate. Fallout 4. Pretty satisfied with shooters this year.

@mesome713: Yeah, it deserves all its accolades.

The people at Gamespot are very much casuals.

At Gamespot and everywhere else, right? Since the game seems to be weeping the category everywhere.

Cool, but it's got no in game communication which as far as I'm concerned is game breaking, so, yeah...

Of course.

Then again, neither do Rocket League and Battlefront, and they are like among two of the biggest multiplayer games of this year, so I don't think people actually care that much.

That said, I do think Nintendo needs to get voice chat in for the next game, at least on an OS level.

Its so creative cute and fun. I can see it and applaud it. I prefer Halo 5 but this is a special advancement in the shooter.

I haven't played it, but rewarding innovation is always a good thing.

@lundy86_4:

The benefit of the rotating maps/ranked modes is it keeps the community alive.

Well there does seem to be some crying...

Didn't enjoy the beta or concept much but good that the Wii U gets another good game.

Halo 5 is my pick, but that game is excellent, so Splatoon obviously has things going for it.

Gamespot and everywhere else? Is that all you care about? I play more games than you post on SW. I know what I'm talking about.

Well that would be an interesting change of pace

They both (Halo 5, Splatoon) seems like alot fun... And I loved Modern Warfare 2.

Yet Garden Warfare didn't get any sort of recognition last year. So pathetic.

can't wait for splatwon on NX

Pretty sure most of the people who played enjoyed it and thats the best recognition a game can get.. from the player itself.

yes it does.

@Opus_Rea-333: It didn't get any recognition from any major gaming websites. It averaged a 7/10 in reviews and that was it. No re-review despite them adding a ton of content to the game and multiple new game modes post-launch FOR FREE.

I hope the sequel will get the respect it deserves, I won't be surprised to see 9's across the board for that game.

What a sad year for shooters wow. Not sure how can anyone take Splatoon over Halo 5lop. Yes, Halo 5 is better. Hell the free dlc's for BF4 are ten times better than Splatoon...

Bad year for Shooters. Only Halo 5 and Splatoon saved them this year. Next year and 2017 are looking way better.

I'm not normally the one to be a Negative Nelly, but it was a shit year for shooters.

I knew that Splatoon would be something special the first time I played the test fire. I preordered it right then and there. The best part was the hype thread where people claimed the game would do badly and fail. Plates of crow were served when it beat the hype. It absolutely deserves shooter of the year, and should have ranked higher in the GS rankings. I think its a easy top 5 game.

Halo 5 getting snubbed all over the place. But good for Splatoon, in spite of the fact that I still can't wrap my head around why people enjoy it as much as they do.

I am quite surprised that Splatoon is winning shooter of the year awards from major review outlets, seeing what the game is against. It is also refreshing to see a non-violent shooter winning over violent shooters.

David over Goliath.

Absolutely.

The competition wasn't anything to get excited about though.

I really dislike this game. Yet, i completely understand the appeal of this game. I think it deserves GOTY shooter with Siege being behind it

This entire year has been crappy for shooters. I haven't played Splatoon, so I don't know how good it is, but the competition its going up against isn't amazing.

2014 had Advanced Warfare, Wolfenstein, Far Cry 4, and Titanfall. Last year had a lot of shit, but it also had some real gems.

Yup, I couldn't agree more. I cant even bring myself to rent it.